Vegan Eggplant Casserole

 Recipe by Kelly Scott

Ingredients

• 4 Yellow Onions Julienne
• ¼ cup Red wined
• 3 medium eggplants sliced into thin rounds
• 1 jar marinara 
• Salt
• 4 tsp Italian Seasoning 
• ¼ cup Nutritional yeast 
• 1 cup Chiffinade Basil 
• 2 tsp Chili Flakes 
• Olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F

2. In a pan stovetop, medium low heat, add olive oil to coat and add your julienned onions. You will caramelize these for 20-30 minutes. Do this by scraping down bottom every few minutes and making sure the onions slowly get a deep brown color. If the bottom of the pan starts to get black, deglaze that area with 2 TB of water and scrub with wooden spoon to get up the fond (the dark yummy caramelization on the bottom of the pan). Once the onions are dark add salt to taste, around 1 tsp. Lastly, deglaze the pan with a dry red wine and reduce until almost dry. 

3. Prep your ingredients, slice your eggplant into thin rounds and salt, in 20 minutes wipe off the excess water that comes out. This will help with texture once the eggplant cooks. 

4. Once your onions are ready set them aside.

5. Spray an 8x8 baking sheet with olive oil and start layering your casserole

6. Start with eggplant, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, ½ tsp Chili Flakes, ¾ cup marinara, Caramelized onions to coat, 1 TB nutritional yeast, and sprinkle of chiffonade basil. Repeat this until you are out of ingredients. 

7. Cover with foil and bake in oven 45 minutes. After 45 minutes check for doneness, if the eggplant is fork tender then it is done.

8. Let sit uncovered for 20 minutes before digging in!